1908: The first recorded Chinese restaurant opened in Glasshouse Street, Piccadilly Circus, London, which was called ‘The Chinese Restaurant’. [6]

Chop suey, fishcakes, black jam cakes and dried "Chinese beetles" were available in Liverpool, and attracted some non-Chinese customers. [2:156]

1911 Census: 1,319 Chinese in England & Wales

1910s

1914: Change of Immigration Law [7]

1914-1918: World War One [8]

1919: The Cheung clansmen founded a limited-liability company; a group of successful restaurants was under its control. This can be seen as the first step in establishing a Chinese restaurant chain. [9]

1949: Agnes Ingle struck a positive note on Chinese food regarding its preference, style, methods, etc. in a talk on Woman's Hour on the BBC. [2:188]

1951 Census: 12,523 Chinese in England & Wales

1950s

Early 1950s: Regional dishes were extended by the former Nationalist Chinese embassy staff that remained in Britain and changed to the catering industry after the Communist revolution. [2:170-171]

1954: End of food rationing

1957 or 1958: A three-course meal pattern was established in Chinese restaurants that developed a stylised adaptation to suit British tastes and British purses. [2:179-181]

1958: John Koon's Lotus House at Bayswater, London, became Britain's first Chinese takeaway. [13]

Late 1950s: Char siu (roast pork), sweet and sour dishes, and egg foo yung (omelettes) first appear on Chinese menus, sometimes alongside curry dishes and a few Western dishes. [2:181]

A wide range of soy sauces and tinned vegetables and fruit was marketed by Amoy. [2:200]

1961 Census: 38,730 Chinese in England & Wales

1960s

1960s: Chinese ingredients were more widely available in Liverpool, Birmingham, Bradford, Middlesborough, Leeds, etc. The main importer from China was Biddle Sawyer of Fitzroy Street, London. [2:198-199]

1980s: Regional Chinese food (notably Pekinese or other north Chinese-style food) increased, whose majority customers were said to be European. [2:181]

Blue Dragon's stir-fry sauces in sachets became its most popular innovation. [2:200]

Convenience foods in the form of prepared meals e.g. Crispy Wontons were supplied to Marks & Spencer by Amoy. [2:200]

1983: Yang Sing in Manchester became the first ethnic restaurant to win the coveted Good Food Guide restaurant of the year award. [2:181]

1984: Sino-British Joint Declaration [16]

1991 Census: 159,936 Chinese in England & Wales

1990s

1990s: Lobster, monkfish and vegetarian set meals were available at more sophisticated and expensive Chinese restaurants, in response to urban development, increasing affluence, greater mobility, and the growth of vegetarianism. [2:181]

The school of Chinese cookery at Westminster College was established; new standards of cooking and presentation of North Chinese food were set. [2:181-182]

Noodles were hailed as the new universal food, and Chinese noodle houses began to appear. [2:182]

Expensive restaurants produced dishes with Chinese cooking methods and materials in an innovative fashion. [2:182-183]

Ken Hom designed menus and children's menus for a restaurant group to promote healthy eating habits from an early age. [2:182]

1993:The sale of Chinese food had a year-on-year increase of 20%, ranking after Indian food as the second most popular ethnic food. Customers developed from using cooking sauces to preparing their own exotic meals. [2:202]

1997: Hong Kong Handover [17]

1999: Britain published two books to further explore the therapeutic and philosophical implications of Chinese eating. [2:196]

2000s

Early 2000s: 400 oriental products, including noodles and a variety of cooking sauces and bottled sauces, were eventually developed by the Blue Dragon. [2:200]

2001 Census: 247,403 Chinese in England & Wales

2001: A combination of traditional Hakka cuisine and Western ingredients e.g. "Bird's nest and foie gras soup with wolfberry" was available in London. Organic pork was used to attract the organic market. [2:185]

'Regionality' was replacing 'authenticity' as a selling point. Singaporean and Malaysian foods were also included in this context. [2:202]

The Chinese food market in Britain had an increase of 71% over five years. [2:202-203]

65% of British households owned a wok. [2:203]

2010s

2011 The British Chinese Food Culture oral history project was launched by Ming-Ai (London) Institute, to track the development of Chinese food in the UK.

[7] The 'British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act' of 1914 allowed people to apply for a certificate of naturalisation as long as certain criteria were met. This made it easier for foreign citizens to settle in the UK. See: Office of Public Sector Information, 1914. British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act, 1914. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1914/17/pdfs/ukpga_19140017_en.pdf.

[12] Served with Brussels sprouts and brown gravy, this "Chinese Cake" was one of the published recipes named after wartime allies, and used little meat due to food shortages and rationing. See 2:160.

[13] Edwards, 2008. Making the Chinese sexy. The Telegraph, [online] 1 Aug. available at: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/3344800/Making-the-Chinese-sexy.html>. Cf. The Restaurant Hall of Fame, time unknown. History of Chinese, Thai & Other Oriental Restaurants in Britain. However, according to our interviews in January 2010, some Chinese people believe that the first Chinese takeaway in the UK was Local Friends at Limehouse.

[14] The new law narrowed the categories under which Commonwealth citizens were allowed to enter Britain, i.e. it became harder to obtain citizenship, hence caused the first migrant wave from Hong Kong by the early 1960s.

[16] The Declaration stated that China would resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong (including Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories) with effect from 1 July 1977. See: Gov.cn, 2007. Full Text of Sino-British Joint Declaration. http://www.gov.cn/english/2007-06/14/content_649468.htm.

[17] This marked the end of more than 150 years of British colonial rule in Hong Kong.